It's an economist's term. I do wonder about the benefit to FB users. I just got this from Wikipedia: Consumer surplus is the difference between the maximum pri

It's an economist's term. I do wonder about the benefit to FB users. I just got this from Wikipedia: Consumer surplus is the difference between the maximum price a consumer is willing to pay and the actual price they do pay. If a consumer would be willing to pay more than the current asking price, then they are getting more benefit from the purchased product than they initially paid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_surplus#Consumer_surplus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_surplus#Consumer_surp... What would consumers actually pay out of pocket for an ad-free FB? Alternatively: imagine there was a job that required you to type in your sensitive personal information and then a business took that information, sold (or accidentally gave) it to other businesses, used it to target ads at you, and leaked it to hackers. Imagine also that this business exposed your sensitive personal information to other people who might use it to your economic and social benefit and/or to your detriment (though you cannot predict how or to what extent). How much should you be paid to do that job? Can it be argued that FB actually offers consumers a deficit instead of a surplus?